Select Equity Group L.P. Reduces Holdings in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Select Equity Group L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 39,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75,317 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $27,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cintas by 123.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 366,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,326,000 after acquiring an additional 201,955 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 711.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 152,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,915,000 after purchasing an additional 133,713 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,646,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,969,000 after buying an additional 112,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Cintas by 124.9% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 195,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after buying an additional 108,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CTAS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.30.

Cintas Stock Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $207.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.66. The firm has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $118.68 and a twelve month high of $211.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.77%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.